Wearing traditional Senegalese clothing were Andre Coulbary and his wife Saffia as they pose in front of the newly launched fishing vessel, "Jilor," on February 8, 1975. Mr. Coulbary was the ambassador to the United States from Senegal who flew in from Washington D.C. for launching ceremonies at Tacoma Boatbuilding. The 181-foot fishing vessel was the first of three tuna seiners destined for Senegal at a total price tag of $12 million dollars. The steel hulled seiner was believed to be the first major American built fishing boat to be delivered new to a country outside the Americas. Named after a small fishing village southwest of Dakar, she could carry a crew of 22 and had a 14-tank, 800-ton frozen fish capacity. Traveling at a top speed of 15 knots, the "Jilor" would set sail for Senegal in the spring. A crowd of about 500 people braved the slight snow/sleet to watch the launching. The two men flanking the ambassador and his wife were not identified. (TNT 2-6-75, A-3 -article; TNT 2-9-75, D-6 -article) TPL-9475

Launchings--Tacoma--1970-1980; Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1970-1980; Fishing boats--Tacoma--1970-1980; Tacoma Boat Building Co., Inc. (Tacoma); Coulbary, Andre; Coulbary, Saffia; Ambassadors--Senegal;